
Joseph Bradford Peaks 



1839-1911 



JOSEPH BRADFORD PEAKS 

^ ADDRESSES ON HIS LIFE AND CHARACTER 
DELIVERED BEFORE THE PISCATAQUIS COUN- 
TY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AT DOVER, MAINE, 
APRIL 25, 1912. SUPPLEMENTED BY THE PRO- 
CEEDINGS OF THE PISCATAQUIS COUNTY BAR 
ASSOCIATION AT THE MEMORIAL EXERCISES 
HELD AT THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT, 
SEPTEMBER TERM, 1912. 



Dover 

Observer Publishing Co. 

1915 



;>:ie 



Joseph Bradford Peaks 



Proceedings of the Piscataquis County 
Historical Society 

The quarterly meeting of the Society was held at the 
Law Library in Dover, Maine, Thursday, April 25, 1912, 
having been adjourned from April 4, 1912, and was 
called to order by the president. Honorable John F. 
Sprague, at two o'clock in the afternoon. 



[The President.] The hour has arrived to which 
this meeting was adjourned. 

This meeting was especially set apart for memorial ex- 
ercises in memory of our late honored member, the Hon- 
orable Joseph B. Peaks. At a previous meeting of the 
Society, a committee on resolutions was appointed. 

Is that committee ready to report? 



[Mr. Smith.] Mr. President: Your committee has 
attended to the duty assigned it, and begs leave to sub- 
mit the following : 

[3] 



Resolutions 

Whereas, in the fullness of His appointed time, the 
Ruler of Destinies has taken from among us one of our 
number, and has in His omnipotent wisdom measured to 
him his just reward, therefore, in the death of Joseph 
B. Peaks, be it 

Resolved, that this Society has been deprived of 
one of its most honored and distinguished members. 

Resolved, that the community has lost one of its 
foremost citizens; one who was ready at all times and in 
all seasons with wise counsels, ready assistance, and gen- 
erous aid in all things tending to promote the general 
welfare of all ; that the State suffers in the loss of a citi- 
zen whose broad influence has alwa3's been exerted for the 
upbuilding of her institutions, and the defending of her 
bulwarks. 

Resolved, that from the legal profession, in his 
death, has been removed one of their number who always 
upheld the dignity of the profession, by his large ability, 
forceful character, and zealous watchfulness, guarding the 
interests of his clients as his own, but with the sole in- 
tention that right might prevail. 

Resolved, that these resolutions be spread upon our 
records, and a copy of them sent to the family of the 
deceased. 

Edgar C. Smith, ) Committee 

LisTON P. Evans, r on 

William H. Sturtevant, ) Resolutions. 
Dover, April 25, 1912. 



[Mr. Smith.] Mr. President: I move the adoption 
of the resolutions. 



[The President.] The resolutions will lie upon the 
table until the members have had an opportunity to 
speak to them. 

[4] 



Judge Edgar C. Smith then read the following bio- 
graphical sketch. 

Joseph Bradford Peaks, 1839-1911 

The president of the society having, agreeably to a 
vote, appointed a committee to draft resolutions and to 
present a tribute to the memory of our late honored 
member, Joseph Bradford Peaks, as chairman of that 
committee, the honor of the preparation of this memo- 
rial has fallen to my lot. I truly consider it an honor 
to be entrusted with this undertaking of transcribing 
upon our records, there to be preserved in our archives, 
our appreciation of a man who has not only left the im- 
press of his character upon his immediate surroundings, 
but has had an influence in shaping the policies of the 
whole state in which he lived. 

His was a character which could not be confined in 
narrow limits, but from his very makeup, his character- 
istics were such as would command attention. 

Colonel Joseph Bradford Peaks was the youngest of 
the family of seven children of F. William and Betsey 
(Billington) Peaks, and was born in Charleston, Maine, 
September 26, 1839. The line of the Peaks family of 
which he was a member is one of the early New England 
families. The founder was William Peaks, who was a 
resident of Scituate, Massachusetts, as early as 1643. 
This ancestor, in 1650, married the widow Judith Little- 
field, and from this union there were three children, 
Israel, Eleazer and William, from whom came the branch 
of the family in America who spelled their names with 
an s, all the others using the original English name Peake. 

The first of the family to settle in Maine was Israel 
Peaks, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who 
probably lived in several Maine towns, but finally settled 
in Dedham, and died there in 1865. 

[5] 



Colonel Peaks' father was born in Gloucester, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1801, and died at Dedham, Maine, Decem- 
ber 2, 18-i-i. In 1818 he married Betsey Billington, who 
survived her husband many years, dying in 1871. Their 
children were: Josiah F. , John B., Lucinda H., Almira 
S. , William G. , Thomas J. and Joseph B. 

Joseph B. Peaks' boyhood days were not marked by 
anything different from the usual course of the average 
boy of his day growing to manhood in the small country 
tov*'n. He attended the common schools ; he was an apt 
pupil, and from the town school he entered Charleston 
Academy, and also attended the East Corinth Academy, 
and fitted himself for college with the intention of 
entering Bowdoin. His plans were changed however, 
whether from the stern necessity of earning for himself 
a livelihood, or other pursuits holding out more alluring 
prospects, the writer is uninformed. 

In the spring of 1861, Colonel Peaks was temporarily 
residing in Lowell, Massachusetts, with his brother. 
He was there on April 12, when Fort Sumpter was fired 
upon, and on the morning of the 15th when President 
Lincoln's call for troops was published in the morning 
papers. On that day he enlisted in the Lowell City 
Guards, which was one of the companies belonging to 
the famous Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, vvhich re- 
ceived undying fame on account of its celebrated march 
through Baltimore on April 19, 1861, when it was at- 
tacked by the rowdies and plug-uglies of the city. 

Let me tell in Colonel Peaks' own words the story of 
his enlistment: "On Monday morning, April 15th, the 
morning newspapers announced that the President had 
called for seventy-five thousand men. Governor Andrew 
of Massachusetts, a Maine born man, immediately or- 
dered the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment to proceed to 
Washington. Four companies of this regiment were 

[6] 



located in the city of Lowell, and great excitement pre- 
vailed. At about ten o'clock in the forenoon I met, on 
Merrimac Street, Lieutenant Jones of the Lowell City 
Guards, with whom I happened to be acquainted, who 
informed me that he was looking after the members of 
his company who were somewhat scattered, because tlie 
regiment was ordered to start for Washington the next 
morning. I asked Lieutenant Jones if there was a 
chance for me in his company, and upon his reply that 
he would be glad to have me go, I immediately went to 
the armory on Market Street; at 10.30 A. M. I was a 
member of the company and was in uniform. I have 
often wondered if anjbody enlisted earlier than that. 
I immediately commenced to drill and became so inter- 
ested I forgot to go to my dinner, and only thought of 
it when my brother and his good wife, who had somehow 
heard of my enlistment, after I neglected to return to 
dinner, came to the armory and brought my dinner to 
me. I did not leave the armory after I enlisted at 
10.30 in the forenoon until the regiment left Lowell the 
next morning for Boston." 

The story of the march through Baltimore and the 
history of the Sixth Massachusetts, are written on the 
pages of the history of the great conflict, and need not 
be repeated here. This regiment was mustered in for 
three months, and after serving one month overtime by 
voluntary agreement of the men, they were mustered out 
and returned to Massachusetts. 

From Lowell Colonel Peaks returned to Charleston, 
Maine, and taught a term or two of school. He was 
next mustered into the United States Army on Septem- 
ber 18, 1862, as a private in Company K of the First 
Maine Cavalry, Captain John D. Myrick's command, 
under the lamented Colonel Calvin S. Douty. He was 
in the battles of Fredericksburg, Brandy Station and 



Aldie. On the ITth of June, ]863, at the battle of 
Aldie, he was wounded, and on November 1, 1863, he 
received an honorable discharge for disability. 

After the war he devoted himself to mercantile pur- 
suits for a number of years. He was connected with J. 
C. Aver & Co., of Lowell, Massachusetts, for a time 
and traveled for that firm in various parts of the United 
States. He was employed as a clerk for a dry goods 
house in Bangor afterwards, and in July, 1870, came to 
Dover and opened a dry goods store in partnership with 
Orison O. Cross. 

Mr. Peaks was of a temperament that the duties and 
narrow limits of the life of a country merchant did not 
appeal to, hence he never could have been successful as a 
storekeeper; and after about two years in business for 
himself, he closed out his business as best he could and 
turned his attention to the law, to the practice of which 
he had had inclination for more than ten years. 

It was back in his schooldays in East Corinth Academy 
tliat he had first conunenced the study of this profession 
in which he was destined to become one of the leading 
lights of the bar of Maine. He read for a time with 
Jacob Lovejoy, Esquire, of East Corinth, and during all 
the years that intervened he never lost sight of the goal 
to which he hoped to attain, that of being a practicing 
attorney. He pursued his studies more or less while 
about his other employments, and for a part of the time 
while he was in business in Dover he was studying under 
the tutorship of the late Honorable Charles A. Everett. 
Colonel Peaks was admitted to the Piscataquis Bar at the 
February term of the Supreme Judicial Court, 18T2. 

He practiced here for a few months, but the town of 
Hartland at that time seemed to him to offer better op- 
portunities, so he located there in 1873. He remained 
in Hartland but a few months when he went to Pittsfield. 

[8] 




Residence of Joseph B. Peaks, Main Street. Dover, Maine. 



Here he built up a ^ood practice and began his political 
career which marked him ever afterwards as one of the 
leaders of the Republican party in the State of Maine. 

It was while he was practicing in Pittsfield that he was 
appointed assistant commissary-general, with the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel, on the staff of Governor Selden 
Connor, which position he held during Governor Con- 
nor's administration, for the years 1876-77-78. 

On April 25, 1871, Colonel Peaks married Eliza Chad- 
bourne, the daughter of Captain Francis W. Chadbourne. 

During the time that he was in Hartland and Pitts- 
field his family had remained in Dover, but in 1877 his 
practice had assumed such proportions and his future 
prospects were such that he decided to purchase a home 
in Pittsfield, and the old homestead at Dover was offered 
for sale. At about this time Mrs. Peaks' mother, who 
lived with them, was taken seriously ill, and fearing that 
the thoughts of leaving her old home might have to do 
with her illness, Colonel Peaks, with generous self-sacri- 
fice, and with gloomy doubts as to his prospects in Dover, 
decided to give up his Pittsfield practice and locate in 
Dover, so that the aged mother of his wife might remain 
in the old home she loved. 

He came to Dover early in the year 1878. After his 
settlement here, Colonel Peaks at once assumed a promi- 
nent position at the bar, and in the political affairs of 
the county and State. He was an ardent Republican, 
having learned his Republicanism in the school of the 
Civil War. He imbibed a spirit of loyalty to his coun- 
try and to his party in his experiences during the years 
of that conflict. His admiration for Lincoln was rever- 
ential; I once heard him express it in these words: "He 
was the greatest man on earth since the Crucified One." 
To give a history of his career as a lawyer, would 
necessitate giving the history of a very large percentage 

[9J 



of the cases tried at the Piscataquis County Bar from 
1878 to the day of his death. 

In the September election of 1879 he was elected 
county attorney for Piscataquis County, assuming the 
duties of the office January 1, 1880. He held this posi- 
tion five years; one one-year term and two two-year 
terms. It was during his administration that the first 
murder trial in Piscataquis County occurred. At the 
September term 1881, Benjamin and Wallace Chad- 
bourne were indicted and placed on trial for the murder 
of Alvin Watson, The murder occurred at Parkman, 
on the night of June 26, 1881. The trial lasted eleven 
days and resulted in the conviction of both, the father 
and son. Colonel Peaks was assisted at the trial by At- 
torney General Henry B. Cleaves. 

The enormous amount of mental and physical labor 
required in the preparation and trial of this celebrated 
case taxed his health and strength beyond the limits of 
his endurance, and after its completion he suffered an al- 
most complete collapse. Never afterwards did he enjoy 
good health. The effects of those strenuous, nerve- 
racking days and nights he carried with him to the 
grave. 

In 1880, under Governor Daniel F, Davis, he received 
the appointment of insurance commissioner. This office 
he held for a term of three A^ears. 

In October, 1877, the Piscataquis Veteran Battalion 
was formed and held its first muster at Abbot, October 
17 and 18. Colonel Peaks, though then located at 
Pittsfield, was prominent in its organization, and was 
elected major, which position he held two years, and was 
then, in 1879, elected colonel of the battalion. Al- 
though he was (jualified to the title of colonel from the 
time of his appointment on Govei'nor Connor's staff in 
1876, he often said that he considered the honor greater 

[10] 



to have been the colonel of the old Piscataquis Veteran 
Battalion, and liked to consider that his particular right 
to that title, by which he was always thereafter familiarly 
known, came from his connection with that organization. 

In 1880 the Piscataquis Battalion passed into the 
regular militia, the Douty Guards of Dover becoming 
Company F of the Second Regiment, and the other com- 
panies being mustered into the First Regiment Reserve 
Militia. The organization was completed in 1881, and 
Colonel Peaks was commissioned colonel of the First 
Regiment Reserve Militia. This position he held two 
years. 

After completing his duties as county attorney in 
1884, he held no public office for the next four years, yet 
no person in the county was more active in political af- 
fairs. 

In 1887 he organized a company to construct the 
Dexter and Piscataquis Railroad. The road was built 
from Dexter to Dover and Foxcroft, and train service 
was commenced in December, 1889. I know of no one 
thing accomplished during his lifetime that gave him so 
much satisfaction as did the successful completion of this 
undertaking. In its prosecution he met with opposition 
from some sources looked for, and from some others un- 
looked for, but the work was finally accomplished. 

Liston P. Evans, who was one of the promoters, and 
who knows something of the difficulties encountered, 
said: "It (the railroad) would have undoubtedly been 
built sometime, but certainly not then but for his effort. 
I know that there were times when most men would have 
given up in despair, but Colonel Peaks was not of that 
kind, and carried the enterprise to a successful termi- 
nation. He never forgot the men who backed him with 
liberal subscriptions for stock." 



[11] 



I might go on indefinite!}' recording the undertakings 
of a public nature in which he bore a prominent part 
and wherein his influence was felt, and always for the 
best interests of the community in which he lived; the 
erection of the Dover public school building, the Thomp- 
son Free Library, and in fact nearly everj^thing in an 
educational, benevolent, patriotic or public improvement 
line which has existed or has been brought into being in 
our towns for the past thirty-five 3'ears, he has been con- 
nected with to a greater or less degree, and his counsels 
and admonitions have always been for their advancement 
and best interests. 

In the Legislatures of 1889 and 1891 he was a mem- 
ber of the House of Representatives, and in 1893 he 
was the senator from this county. Here, as in all other 
things with which he was connected, he was a leader. 
During all his service in the Legislature he was a mem- 
ber of the judiciary committee, the most important one 
of that body, and in 1891 was the chairman on the part 
of the House, and in 1893 was the Senate chairman. 
Many of the laws on our statute books today bear the 
impress of his large legal ability and good judgment. 

In May, 1895, he was appointed, by Governor Cleaves, 
chairman of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of 
the State of Maine. When he assumed the office the 
electric railway was in its infancy. Of electric and horse 
railroads combined there were at that time but ninety- 
one miles in Maine, w ith gross earnings of five hundred 
thousand dollars, carrying nine million passengers a year ; 
when he left the chairmanship of the board in 1910 there 
were nearly five hundred miles of electric roads with 
gi'oss earnings of over two million five hundred thousand 
dollars, and carrying nearly fifty million passengers a 
year. 



[12] 



A greater part of the law of the land relating to these 
roads was made during the time that he held this impor- 
tant office. In the sixteen volumes of the annual reports 
of the railroad commissioners from 1895 to 1910 are 
found the learned decisions drawn by Colonel Peaks, 
many of them of far-reaching effect and of great import- 
ance. The first case brought before the board for deci- 
sion after he became chairman was that of the Cape 
Elizabeth Street Railroad Company, by a petition to lay 
their tracks in the streets of South Portland, commenc- 
ing at the southerly end of the Portland bridge. The 
petitioners and opponents were represented by some of 
the most eminent counsel in the State of Maine. This 
petition was at that time denied, and the written opinion 
contains an able explanation of the rights and obliga- 
tions of street railways in the highways, and discusses 
the powers and limits of the Legislature regarding the 
same, together with a masterly exposition of the province 
of the Board of Railroad Commissioners. This decision 
was handed down June 10, 1895, hardly two weeks from 
the time of his appointment. From that time on he 
was recognized as an authority on railway law, and his 
decisions rarely questioned and never reversed by the 
courts. 

His last official decision bears date of May 11, 1910, 
shortly prior to his retirement from the board. By odd 
coincidence this opinion had to do with Portland I'ailway 
affairs as did his first. It was regarding the Veranda 
Street bridge in Poi'tland over the tracks of the Grand 
Trunk Railroad, in which sidewalks were ordered to be 
built. 

I have dwelt thus largely on Colonel Peaks' career as 
a public servant, for by his services as such he was best 
known to the greater number of the people of Maine; 
but from the human side of his life, to those who 'were 

[13] 



privileged to know him intimately, there was a wealth of 
material to draw from. He was not a man who wore his 
heart on his sleeve, and it took the key of friendship to 
unlock the repository of his true greatness, his big, 
warm, lovable heart. The casual acquaintance or the 
mere business or professional associate was not usually 
privileged to see this side of his nature. 

I was honored for four years, I believe, with as close an 
intimacy with him as any person ever was, outside the 
limits of his own family circle. 1 knew of his hopes and 
disappointments, his joys and his sorrows, his cares and 
his burdens. I count it as one of the choicest experi- 
ences of my life to have been permitted to know him 
thus confidently. Tender in sympathy, liberal in charity, 
firm in convictions and quick in perception, were charac- 
teristics predominating. 

lie died at Portland at Dr. King's hospital, November 
20, 1911, whither he had gone for treatment in hopes to 
regain his health, which had been delicate for some 
months. 

Of the marriage recorded previously, there were three 
children : Annie Hamblen, born July 25, 1872, married 
William S. Kenny, now living in Chicago ; Francis Chad- 
bourne, born February 2(3, 1874, a practicing attorney, 
resident of Dover, Maine; a daughter, born in 1889, who 
died in infancy. 

As a delineation of the character of Colonel Peaks I 
am unable to give anything truer or more appropriate 
than the words spoken at the funeral service by his friend 
and minister, Reverend George A. Merrill, of the Fox- 
croft and Dover Congregational Church. He, too, had 
been privileged to know him as an intimate friend and 
helper, and from the fullness of that knowledge, and in 
his heartfelt sympathy, he feelingly and touchingly said : 
"It is impossible for words to match the greatness of a 

[14] 



life. Noble character is infinitely nobler than anything 
that can be spoken in eulogy. It is, therefore, with a 
deep sense of the inadequacy of human speech, 

. . that I come today to pay my poor tribute to 

him who was my friend Here was a 

man who uniteti with exceptional strength and virility of 
character, a beautiful teuilerness and friendliness. Not 
every one was admitted into this charmed circle, so that 
he could feel and appreciate these gracious, tender quali- 
ties of mind and heart. Yet he was not exclusive; he 
was democratic in the best sense, and was ever approach- 
able, giving to all their dues but reserving for those near- 
est him the finest treasures of his soul 

Strong and decided in his opinions, and outspoken in his 
convictions, one was impressed also with the breadth of 
his knowledge, the soundness of his reasoning, and 
the careful thought that lay behind his decisions. 

"As a friend he bore the burdens of others, entering 
into their troubles and doing his utmost for them. The 
same devotion that he gave to his clients, he gave, 
though in a larger measure, to his friends. No one can 
forget this loyalty who ever felt its power. It was in- 
deed true that the friends he had, and their 'adoption 
tried, ' he 'grappled them to his soul with hooks of steel. ' 
There was another side of his life not open to the world, 
but which they who were nearest him knew well. It was 
his kindness and benevolence to the poor or to any in 
need who appealed to his heart. His gifts were not 
heralded. That splendid 'portion of a good man's liie, 
his little nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and 
of love,' of which the poet Wordsworth speaks, was his 
in abundant measure. In his life, as there ought to be 
in the life of every true man, there was a 'holy of holies. ' 
It was his home. Dearer to him than his own life were 
the lives of wife and daughter and son. They were his 

[15] 



delight and joy. The last lines of Bryant's Thanatop- 
sis most aptly applied to him. 

*'So live that when thy summons comes to join 
The innumerable caravan, that moves 
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent hall of death, 
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night. 
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave. 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 



[16] 



Address of Honorable Frank E. Guernsey 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Piscataquis His- 
torical Society : 

I cannot let this occasion pass without recording a few 
words of respect to the memory of my friend, Colonel 
Joseph B. Peaks. The Piscataquis County Bar, by the 
death of Colonel Peaks, lost an honored and a distin- 
guished member, who, in his long and active career, had 
been prominent in the trial of many important causes, 
and the State of Maine a most useful citizen who not 
only as a soldier served his country on the field of battle 
in the War of the Rebellion, but one who, in civil life, 
had held many high positions. 

Nearl}' forty years ago he was admitted to the bar, and 
to the day of his death was engaged in the pursuit of his 
profession. In 1879 he was chosen prosecuting attoi-ney 
for the County of Piscataquis and continued in that posi- 
tion until 1885. During that period he won fame in the 
successful conduct of many important criminal cases. 
As a practicing attorney he was unusually successful. 
The cause of every client — and it mattered not to him 
whether the case was large or small — the client a person 
of influence or otherwise, or whether he would be well 
paid for his services, or the prospects slight that he would 
be rewarded at all, when once he had entered upon the 
case it became his personal matter and the preparation 

[17] 



for trial carefully and fully made. Every legal right of 
his client was presented and every legal right enforced so 
far as it lay in his power, and I know from personal 
knowledge he was as just with his clients on the day of 
settlement as he was faithful in their service. His 
charges, always reasonable, were based on the service 
rendered rather than upon the amount his client could 
stand, if he were a man of wealth, while, on the other 
hand, if his client were poor he frequently undercharged 
for his professional services and often rendered no ac- 
count for his labor. 

He was not only a skilful lawyer but a most safe 
counselor who saved many a client from being involved 
in groundless litigation. 

One of the most important works in the useful career 
of Colonel Peaks, and one that this community and this 
county may well place to his credit and praise, was his 
organization of the Dexter and Piscataquis Railroad 
Company in 1887. This enterprise, which will be of 
lasting importance and benefit to the people of Piscata- 
quis County, was due largely to his efforts. He strug- 
gled against adverse conditions and at times when failure 
was freely predicted, but against opposition and dis- 
couraging circumstances he led in carrying through to 
completion the construction of the railroad that brought 
the twin towns in direct connection with Portland and 
Boston, and fifty miles nearer those centers by rail than 
they had previously been. And, further, what is re- 
markable in railroad building, the road through careful 
management of its finances paid a dividend before it was 
operated, and through a wise lease had ever since paid 
regular dividends to its stockholders. 

His public service as County Attorney, legislator in 
the House and Senate of Maine, his work as Insurance 
Commissioner, and finally his eminent services as chair- 

[18] 



man ol the Board of Railroad Commissioners through a 
long series of years, will perpetuate his memory in this 
State and make secure his record for all time. 

My acquaintance with Colonel Peaks was not only as 
a professional man and as a public official, but for many 
years I knew him as one of my nearest neighbors and as 
such I knew him as a man of unusually fine sentiment 
towards his family, charitable and kind to his neighbors, 
thoughtful and generous towards the poor, ever ready to 
render assistance to worthy causes, private or public. 



[19] 



Address of Reverend George A. Merrill 

Mr. President: 

It is a pleasure to me, this afternoon, to say a few 
words in memor}' and in honor of a man whom I was 
glad to reckon as one of my best friends. Although 
more than five months have passed since his entrance 
into the higher life, even now I can hardly realize that 
he is gone. I used to see him and talk with him so fre- 
quently that his personality made a deep impression 
upon me. He had a very strong nature. The only 
evidence of weakness about him was his overworked and 
weary body during the last months of his earthly life. 
His mind was always alert, able to grasp a situation in 
its main features and important details with ease. My 
association with him impressed me with the fact that he 
was a man of ver}' strong opinions, outspoken and firm 
in his convictions, 3'et judicious and fair in his decisions. 
I respected his political opinions, for they seemed always 
to be founded on wide reading and experience as well as 
acquaintance with men of affairs and political characters; 
and I do not hesitate to say that I miss sadly the illum- 
ination that came to me through conversation with him 
on political matters. 

He had a love for the good and great in literature, 
having read widely, especially along the lines of history 
and legal discussion. He was not over-fond of fiction, 
but he appreciated good poetry, and I have often heard 
him quote fine passages that appealed to him strongh\ 

[20] 



Abraham Lincoln was his hero. Everything written 
about or by the martyred President was read and re- 
read by him with the greatest interest. The Civil War, 
in which he participated, was a topic the consideration 
of which never wearied him. I have often heard him 
recount incidents of those stirring days. 

He seemed to me to be a man of good judgment, one 
who was able to read the character of men well — a qual- 
ity indispensable indeed in his profession, but one which 
he possessed, I feel, in an unusual degree. I do not 
need to speak of his high ability as a lawyer, for that 
was known to aou all, and others, especially his associ- 
ates at the bar, can speak of that with greater authority 
than myself. However, my acquaintance with him im- 
pressed me with his evident thoroughness and faithful- 
ness in his legal work. He bore the burden of his 
clients' interests and did his best for them. Many will 
have cause to thank him, as they have already, I am 
sure, for his kindness and consideration in serving them. 

He had a deep, rich fund of humor, which made him 
a pleasing and stimulating companion. There was a 
contagion in his friendly smile and hearty hand grasp 
that one could not escape. He had a wide circle of 
friends ; but some there were, as it must always be, who 
were in the ^^inner circle." To these he opened the 
treasures of a well-stored mind and a kindly, generous 
spirit. He was broad in his sympathies and liberal in 
his religious faith. I always found him kind and appre- 
ciative. When he came to church, as he frequently did, 
he was a good listener, and was often ready with an en- 
couraging word. Personally, I feel, as I have already 
had occasion to say, that in the death of Colonel Peaks 
a man has passed from the circle of my acquaintance 
whom I greatly respected and whom I regarded as one of 
my wisest counselors and truest friends. 

[21] 



Address of Robert E. Hall, Esquire 

Mr. President; 

I desire at this time to pay my tribute to the memory 
of our late fellow citizen and my brother attorney, 
Colonel Joseph B. Peaks, 

Colonel Joseph B. Peaks was a good soldier, an able 
lawyer and an efficient public servant. He was a man 
of strong individuality, force and ability. He was a 
man who did things. 

No man, great or mediocre, ever left the realm of 
human activities without leaving behind him written on 
the record of his life's actions and sayings some mis- 
takes, shortcomings and failures. Colonel Peaks no 
doubt left his, but the sum total is what stands out to 
us on an occasion like this when we gather together to 
look back upon a profitable life and do honor to the 
man who lived it. Colonel Peaks was a man who did 
things. If he made a mistake, if he fell short in some 
attempted reach, if he failed altogether in some cher- 
ished purpose, he corrected, he made up in some other 
way, or he energetically took up the accomplishing of 
some other purpose, as the case might be, always rising 
above setbacks, defeats and attacks with undamped cour- 
age, force and effectiveness. 

I knew Colonel Peaks best as one of the younger at- 
torneys practicing at the bar with him and also through 

[22] 



the friendly relations which have always existed between 
our respective families. He was an able lawyer. As 
opposing attorney he was brusque, a fighter, jealous of 
every right of his client and if he bore down on his 
opponent a little hard in his zeal he made it up to him 
by some subsequent friendly act, for it was the spirit in 
him which "did things" rather than any desire to injure 
his adversary which made him press his opponent. I 
always came out of a brush with him a little brighter 
and wiser as a result of the impact, winner or loser, and 
I always found his zeal was equally strong when he was 
associated with me. If Colonel Peaks, in legal or polit- 
ical contests and discussions, encountered a man possess- 
ing some of his own indomitable fighting qualities, fire 
was sometimes struck, but one of the best things about 
him was that he never harbored a grudge. After the 
battle was over he was the same affable gentleman and 
friend and never held it against a man that he had 
opposed or fought him in law, politics or otherwise. 

As a lawyer Colonel Peaks was most helpful to me, a 
younger man of less experience, by his ready advice and 
suggestions. Our offices faced each other across the cor- 
ridor, and we visited back and forth frequently. He 
was always ready to lay aside his work to discuss with 
me some point of law or to give me the benefit of his 
longer experience in matters of practice and expediency. 
I shall always remember and appreciate his helpfulness 
at the outset of my practice. 

As a friend, neighbor and man in his family. Colonel 
Peaks was a most generous, agreeable, courteous and 
interesting gentleman. He was generous almost to a 
fault and as host could not do enough for the comfort 
and pleasure of his guests. He was a genial and kindly 
neighbor, tender hearted and solicitous toward all in his 
neighborhood and ready at all times to lend a helping 

[23] 



hand to any and all to whom the little neighborly lifts, 
which mean so much at times, would be of benefit, as- 
sistance or comfort. At public meetings and social 
gatherings he was always welcomed as a man of conse- 
quence who always had something interesting to say. 
As the head of his family he was most wise, liberal and 
affectionate; ever ready to make any sacrifice for the 
advancement and benefit of the members of his house- 
hold. 

Colonel Peaks was always active and prominent in the 
big things of the community. Because of his ability, 
energy and interest he was among the people talked 
about ill his town, county and state. The official posi- 
tions he has so well filled have alread}' been mentioned, 
as have also his achievements as a soldier, attorney and 
public man. He was a man who did things and as such 
we do and shall miss him; as such we honor his memory. 



[24] 



Address of Listen P. Evans 

It was only yesterday afternoon it was suggested that 
I might be asked to say something, and I have been so 
busy that I have not been able to make any preparation. 
It hardly seems necessary to speak of Colonel Peaks 
except as a friend. I have been associated with him in a 
business way for more than twenty years, and thought 
I knew him, but it was only until in recent years when I 
came to call upon him in his home, as I did very fre- 
quently, spending many pleasant hours and Sunday after- 
noons, that I came to know him indeed, and, as has 
already been stated, I found that in his family life he 
was an ideal man. 

I esteemed him my friend, a dear friend, and while a 
great many men have gone out from us whom I esteemed 
my friends, no one of them has stayed in my mind as he 
has ; others have gone and been soon forgotten and gone 
from the mind, but he has not. 

Often as I go to the post office, perhaps in the eve- 
ning, I will see somebody coming in the twilight and I 
will say, "There is Colonel Peaks," seeing him as I used 
to for many years ; and in the home, where he used to 
call upon me in my home, the chair that he used to oc- 
cupy, when I see that, he comes to my mind. He made 
that impression on me. His strong character was appar- 
ent, and so I can say that when he left us I lost a dear 
friend. 



[25] 



Address of Honorable Wainwright Gushing 

I think the thanks of this society are due to Judge 
Smith for the admirable paper which he has presented on 
the life of Colonel Peaks. To my mind it was absolutely 
true. I knew him well as a comrade of the Grand Army 
of the Republic and for years before his health gave out 
we were at the lake. I remember on one occasion we 
entertained the Governor of Maine and his staff. 

Twenty-five years ago I was placed in a position where 
I needed a sum of money, and I did not think of any one 
in this town that I could go to to get it except Colonel 
Peaks. I went to him and said that I wanted two hun- 
dred dollars. He said, "You shall have it." I said, 
"Do you want a note?" and he said, "No, your word is 
good." I have always esteemed him from that time as 
one of my dearest and best friends. 



[26] 



Address of Osgood P. Martin 

I have nothing to occupy the time today, but I will 
say that I am very glad to have been here and heard the 
papers of Mr. Smith and Mr. Hall, also the remarks 
generally. 

I knew Mr. Peaks very well. I knew him to have 
plenty of friends and plenty of enemies, and no man ever 
does anything in this world unless he makes both. I 
also had a high regard for him ; he would not give up 
anything he had undertaken to do if there was any pos- 
sible way of accomplishing it. 



(The President) : The motion before this meeting is 
upon accepting the report of your committee and the 
adoption of the resolutions read. 

It was so voted and the resolutions were adopted. 

Adjourned. 

Edgar C. Smith, Secretary, pro tern. 



[27] 



Joseph B. Peaks 

Proceedings of the Piscataquis County Bar 

On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 17, 1912, 
the first day of the September term, Mr. Justice Haley 
presiding, at the conclusion of the regular business of 
the day, Henry Hudson, Esquire, chairman of the com- 
mittee appointed to prepare resolutions on the death of 
the late Colonel Joseph B. Peaks, addressed the Court, 
saying : 

May it please your Honor: In behalf of the bar of 
this county and as chairman of the committee on resolu- 
tions in respect to the memory of our late brother, 
Joseph B. Peaks, I desire to present at this time the 
resolutions which have been prepared by the committee. 
I will read them : 

Resolutions 

Colonel Joseph B. Peaks of Dover, Maine, died on the 
20th day of November, 1911, at the age of seventy-two 
years. He was born at Charleston, Maine, on the 26th 
day of September, 1839. He served as a soldier in the 
Civil War, in the old Sixth Massachusetts Regiment of 
Volunteer Infantry, and also the First Maine Cavalry. 
He was admitted to the Maine Bar at the term of court 
held at Dover on the 27th day of February, 1872. 
Although he first practiced his profession in Pittsfield, 
Maine, the greater part of his professional life work was 

[31] 



done at Dover at this Bar. He has held many offices of 
honor both under the town, county and State govern- 
ments. 

He was Insurance Commissioner from 1879 to 1883 
and held the very important office of Railroad Commis- 
sioner from 1895 to 1910. He was an honorable and 
successful practitioner of the law ; faithful to his clients 
and to the Court, and here in this room, where he has so 
long and so successfully practiced his chosen profession, 
it is peculiarly fitting that the Bar of which he was an 
honored member should seek to place upon the records 
of the court a memorial of their admiration and their 
respect. 

Resolved, that the members of the Piscataquis Bar 
recall with sorrow the death of their late brother ; that 
they recall with pride his strength of character and his 
splendid powers as an advocate. That his devotion to 
the law as a science, and his fidelity to his clients and to 
the Court, and his faithfulness to his official trusts de- 
serve and have received the admiration of his colleagues. 

Resolved, that these resolutions be presented to the 
Court for its action and pray that this Honorable Court 
may order the same spread upon the records. 

Henry Hudson, ) Committee 

C. W. Hayes, V on 

M. L. DuRGiN, ) Resolutions. 



[32] 



Address of Henry Hudson, Esquire 

May it Please Your Honor : 

The reading of these resolutions brings back to my 
memory many, many things. For a number of years in 
our earlv professional lives Brother Peaks and I had 
pi-acticed at the bar in this county, and for some years 
were nearly always on opposite sides. My relations with 
Brother Peaks began very early in life, and the relations 
between our families, more especially the relations be- 
tween my late wife and his wife, commenced in child- 
hood. Both ladies were reared within a stone's throw 
of this court house, the street only dividing their homes. 

I was admitted to the bar at the September term, 
1875, Brother Peaks had been a^dmitted three years 
and a half earlier, but for a short time after his admis- 
sion he did not engage in active practice. When I 
came to the bar he was in practice in Somerset County. 
Soon after my admission he returned to Dover and 
opened an office here, and continued thereafter the prac- 
tice of his profession in this county. 

In those early days Colonel Peaks and myself were 
associated together in the trial of many important cases. 
Our late Brothers Lebroke, Robinson and Everett, who 
passed away many years ago, were then in active practice 
at this bar. It was then sometimes said it was "the old 
men against the steer team," as Colonel Peaks and I 

[33] 



were called. In the trial of these cases Colonel Peaks 
usually conducted the presentation of the evidence and I 
closed with the argument. But within a short space of 
time, as it now appears to me as I look back upon that 
period, our elder brethren passed away, and Brother 
Peaks and I appeared more often upon opposite sides. 
While we sometimes had sharp tilts in court, and while 
we were not in accord upon the political questions before 
the people in those days, 3'et we were always good 
friends. If we had a sharp encounter in court, it was 
quickly forgotten and no mention made of it thereafter. 
Well do I remember an incident which occurred twenty 
years ago this very term of court. It was the day fol- 
lowing our annual September election. It had been a 
hot campaign, and we had both been active upon the 
stump throughout the county, upon opposite sides. On 
that day, twenty years ago, Brother Peaks, standing in 
yonder door, said to me, "Henry, how are you feeling?" 
I said, "All right; how are you?" He replied, "All 
right." And so it was "all right" as between my 
Brother Peaks and me. We were friends always. 
Although we were often arrayed against each other in 
court, this friendship continued down through all the 
years, and I desire to say to your Honor — and I weigh 
well the words I speak — there never was a man in this 
county with a heart more kind, or one who would do 
more for one in trouble or distress than our Brother 
Peaks. 

In practice at the bar there were few who were keener, 
or who could see a point more quickly, and any attorney 
trying a case against him who thought to have an easy 
task, or who thought possibly some point might be over- 
looked, was sure to find himself mistaken. 

I do not know that I can add more; certainly I can- 
not say anything of our late Brother that is not already 

[34] 



well known to a greater portion of the members of the 
bar. He was an important ftictor, not only at the bar, 
but in the policies of the State. As stated in the reso- 
lutions, he held important offices, and in them all he 
discharged his duties faithfully and well. That is shown 
by his service of fifteen years upon the Board of Railroad 
Commissioners of this State. But he has passed away. 
I can hardly realize that I am, save one, who sits at my 
left (Mr. Sprague) now the oldest member of this bar in 
point of service; but soon some of the younger members 
will take our places. 

If your Honor please, I move that the resolutions be 
entered of record. 



L35J 



Address of Charles W. Hayes, Esquire 

May it Please the Court : 

I cannot allow this occasion to pass without adding a 
word of tribute to the memory of Brother Peaks, He 
was one of the older practitioners of the bar when I 
came into practice in 1890. He practiced in Dover, 
and I in Foxcroft — substantially the same town, — and 
during the last years of his life we were very closeh' as- 
sociated. I heartily concur in the resolutions, and in 
all that my Brother Hudson has said in regard to the 
ability and personal character of Brother Peaks. Those 
of us who were privileged to practice law with him and 
against him — especially those of us who practiced against 
him — can but feel that we were benefited and better 
prepared as members of the profession in our experience 
in trying cases with him. He was a man of excellent 
qualities, and a man of great energy. Unprepared as I 
am at this time, I will not attempt to call attention to 
many things within my knowledge which would illustrate 
his energy; but I do know that upon several occasions 
during my personal relations with him when, owing to 
the condition of his health, his strength was so reduced 
that he was obliged to go from the court to his home 
and take his bed for days. 

No one at the bar, since I have been in practice at 
least, has ever shown greater energy and fidelity to the 
interests of his clients, at times both impairing his health 

[36] 



and exhausting his strength in their behalf in the con- 
duct of cases in court. But aside from his professional 
career, which is so well known to us all, and in a meas- 
ure to your Honor, he was a man of great influence in 
public affairs. In the fifteen years during which he was 
a member of the Railroad Commission of this State, 
through his energy, influence and industry, the scope of 
that commission was greath' enlarged, and by his intel- 
lect its duties and functions largely moulded and framed. 
Brother Peaks was a soldier as well. He served in 
the great civil conflict in a regiment sent to the front 
from Massachusetts and in a regiment sent from Alaine 
as well. As illustrating the nature of the man I will 
mention a story which I have heard him relate as to his 
experience with his regiment while passing through 
Baltimore in '61, when the regiment was mobbed, while 
the soldiers were upon a train about to start for Wash- 
ington. Some of the sympathizers with secession sought to 
uncouple a car from the train, loaded with his comrades, 
that it might be left behind. Colonel Peaks was ordered 
by his superior officer to prevent such an act, and, if 
necessary, to take the life of an^^one who should attempt 
to detach the cars from the train. He modestly said 
that he prevented the uncoupling of the car, and the 
train proceeded on its way. Brother Peaks was emi- 
nently a man of action, as well as an able lawyer and a 
thorough practitioner, and as such he will be remem- 
bered by us all, as long as we live. I heartily second 
the resolutions which have been presented. 



[37] 



Address of Martin L. Durf^in, Esquire 

I most sincerely and heartily concur in the resolutions 
which have been presented. My acquaintance with our 
Brother Peaks extended over a period of thirty-four 
years. When I was first admitted to the bar in this 
county our relations became more than ordinarily inti- 
mate; they were sincerely and truly friendly to a very 
large degree. I think perhaps, with the exception of 
Brother Hudson, I counseled with him in the years that 
he lived and practiced here, more than any other mem- 
ber of the bar, and I always found him courteous, polite 
and obliging, and ever ready to assist a younger attor- 
ney, or one less endowed with the abilities which he 
possessed. 

Colonel Peaks was not only strongly endowed mental- 
ly, but he was also a man who had the courage of his 
convictions. He entered into his work as an advocate 
without fear, and for an attorney often compelled to en- 
gage in a legal battle without preparation and upon 
short notice, I do not know that I ever saw his equal. 

He was not only courteous to his brother attorneys, 
but always anxious to fulfill his duty toward them. He 
was fearless in the expression of his opinions upon ques- 
tions of right and wrong, and always ready to maintain 
them. As I have stated, my friendship with Brother 
Peaks continued through all the years of our acquaint- 
ance, and when the sad news of his death came, I realized 

[38] 



that I had, indeed, lost a true and loving friend. 

I second the resolutions which have been presented. 



Then, at the request of the president of the Bar Asso- 
ciation, Edgar C. Smith, Esquire, read the biographical 
sketch of Colonel Peaks, which appears in the proceed- 
ings of the Historical Society. 



[39] 



Response by the Court 

Brethuen of the Piscataquis Bar: 

I have listened with great interest to your tributes to 
the memory of our deceased Brother. For many years I 
had the pleasure of being personally acquainted with 
Brother Peaks, but as we lived in different sections of 
the State, I had not that intimate acquaintance with 
him that you enjoyed; but our acquaintance was so inti- 
mate that I was impressed by his intellect and his 
knowledge of the law, and I think I may truthfully say 
that no lawyer who had legal business with him could 
fail to realize that he was one of the leaders of the bar. 

Occasions like this I believe to be of great benefit. 
Our attention is taken from the present and turned to 
the past, and as we look upon the life work of the dead 
we involuntarily feel in our hearts the desire to so live 
that when we depart from this life we, too, shall leave 
behind us such a record that not only our brethren of 
the bar but all our friends will point to it with pleasure 
and pride. 

Brother Peaks' life should serve as an incentive to the 
members of the bar. Handicapped by an illness that 
would have discouraged many, he fought his w^ay to the 
front and became a leader in his profession and in his 
political party, and helped to shape the affairs of the 
State. It can be truthfully said that his life counted 
for good in the progress the world is making. His life 

[40] 



and character have been so well portrayed in the re- 
marks that have been made by the brethren of the bar 
that it would be useless for me to attempt to add any- 
thing further ; but I can truthfully say that his memory 
deserves the tributes you have rendered to it. The res- 
olutions are accepted and are ordered to be made a mat- 
ter of record, and as a further evidence of our respect 
for our deceased Brother the court will now adjourn 
until to-morrow morning. 

The court was then adjourned. 



[41] 



\VJ <" 



013 995 560 2 



